By Ajay Nemade
Monotheist says, “God is one, my God is true and your God is false”. This kills spirituality. In spirituality there is no my God or your God. God is the same for all humanity, whether they believe him in any form. Monotheist insists on their own God which is actually their imagination on a particular image developed by their founders of religion. This is delusion and their perception about God. This is not acceptable to Spirituality.
Spirituality believes in humanity that all people are equal whether they believe your God or not. Monotheism divides humanity in two parts- believer and non-believer. Spirituality does not divide humanity like this. Actually monotheism is ideology which wants to rule on people through their particular faith and collect Tax or zakaat from them in the name of religion. In monotheism, the head of state and the head of religion is a same person i.e. pope or khalif. In secularism, these two posts should be separated. Since in monotheism, the head of state and head of religion is same persons, he reject existence of non-believers and killed them or expel them from his region. This kills spirituality.
Monotheism organize people by offering congregational prayer daily. This congregation create crowd, then they incite the crowd in the name of God by giving sermon or lecture and use followers for their ideology which they develop in the name of monotheism. Monotheist Religion means a particular system of faith. This religion is an organization establishes by their founder on the basis of faith. They created God. Written Books and marketed it.
Monotheism says there is only one way to God. But God can be reached by so many ways, but they insist only one path, by doing this they are imposing limitation, it is not freedom of thoughts. Monotheism rejects freedom of faiths. This kills spirituality. The Mahabharata describes the eightfold path of Dharma (Spirituality).”Worship, study, charity, austerity, truth, forgiveness, compassion and freedom from greed, this is the eightfold path to Dharma. The first four can also be performed by a hypocrite, but the last four can only exist in a great soul.”Monotheist performs worship, study, charity and austerity only. Apart from this, Spirituality insists on truth, forgiveness, compassion and freedom from greed.
Spirituality sees oneness in all soul or being, there is no division of human being as believers & non-believers. There is no killing of non-believers. There is no allurement of heaven or terrorism of hell.Insisting one form of God in the name of monotheism is actually mono-idolatry. Mono-idolatry says their God is true and other’s are falls, this creates clashes and conflict in humanity in the name of God. Hence this is against spirituality.
Spirituality is not about monotheism or polytheism or atheism etc. It is about good deed, Truth, freedom of faiths. But monotheism limits good deed, truth and freedom of faiths for their followers, not for non-believers. Hence monotheism kills spirituality.
I am sorry you have not been taught sufficiently about the God of the heavens and the earth who calls for and teaches truth, forgiveness, compassion and freedom from greed. You are making some assumptions in your attack on monotheism. And if spirituality is open to all spiritualities, you are excluding this one. That is not consistent. In the myriad ways and spiritualities on display in the world, I would rather trust a guide who is seeking the best way than the one who cannot discern between the best and the many others.
Dear Howard,
Thanks for your comments.
First the God is unseen and formless, it is ultimate power of world, you cannot see the God. But, God’s name is creation of man, man and religious book has given name to the God. Man has created religions. God residing at heaven or earth this is assumption and delusion of man.
Second,it is not my assumptions about monotheism, but some monotheist declaring religious war against human being outside their religion (i.e. non-believers), there are so many news about this, these monotheist creating unrest in the world. Without God you can live life spiritually as Buddhist never believe in God, but they are spiritual.
What is ‘spiritual’? There will be a million definitions for it, I’m sure. I’m a monotheistic Deist. Monotheism, in the Jewish, Christian and Islamic forms, eschews idolatry. This is seen as false by these religions. In the Jewish context, the reason was historical, since in the Ancient Near East, idolatry was associated with human sacrifice and sexual orgies. The Torah as such declares idolatry to be sinful for this very reason: see Deuteronomy 12:31. In the Christian context, idolatry is seen as a corruption of the glory of God: see Romans 1:23. The New Testament, and even the Old, presents God as being beyond idols and “temples made with human hands” (Acts 7:48). That, if you ask me, is true spirituality. While it is true that monotheists have created unrest in the world in the name of Gd, that does not mean monotheism is to be blamed, just as since there are polytheists who have created the caste system and have oppressed people, it doesn’t mean polytheism itself is to be blamed for that. Want to see spiritual monotheists? There are plenty of unselfish Jewish, Christian and Muslim men and women who work for the good of all. Now that is spirituality.
Why they are against idolatry? because Idolism de-organized people.All prophet wanted to organised their followers, so they opposed idolism. If you wants to organised your follower, monotheism is essential. Jew religion is about hebrew nation (read judaism.com), Islam is about arab nation (read Islam-watch.org), christen about vatican. Now you will say Hinduism about India, yes, it is true, but since there is no practicing Monotheism, Hindu are not organised. Now you will say to adopt monotheism of above three monotheims, but accepting Jew/Islam/Christen monotheism will make Hindu their slavers. So Hindu should create their monotheism on the base of Veda and practice it daily. Hindu Monotheism is a real reply to this abrahmic Monotheism.
Every time I read the bible I read again and again that their is not one but many.
False teachers always fight against the grain of the bible and selectively choose the false teachings.
I pray to all of god’s siblings at night and they scream they are being torn away from one another by man made religions.
I fear for all us mortals- these are not lowly men but the Gods. They do not react well.